Michael Irvin isn’t buying the plug-and-play theory. Good offensive line or no, he feels that DeMarco Murray was critical to Dallas’ attack, and believes his decision to sign with the Eagles has altered the NFC East hierarchy.

“Philadelphia upgraded immensely in [the running back] department,” Irvin said during an appearance on 97.5 the Fanatic Wednesday. “LeSean McCoy is a bad man. He’s a great player and he beats defenses; he shakes you off, he fakes you out, he runs around you, he gets to the end, to the corner, everything.

“I call LeSean McCoy a guy that beats defenses; I call DeMarco Murray a defense-beater. That’s the difference. He ain’t running around nobody. He’s running through you, and now you’ve got all these defensive backs on the football field trying to tackle a defense-beater, not a guy that beats defenses.” Read more »

When Peter King of The MMQB wrote about Chip Kelly earlier this week, he compared the Eagles’ head coach to Jimmy Johnson.

Before his first training camp practice of the season on Saturday, we spent time in his office, and when we parted, I thought how much he reminded me of Jimmy Johnson when Johnson entered the league 25 years ago. Respectful of the other coaches and teams, but they aren’t going to dictate what he’s going to do. Totally confident that his style will work in the NFL. Unlike Johnson, Kelly’s not brash on the outside. Like Johnson, he knows deep down his way will win. Johnson brought a small, fast defense into a league that was going bigger and bigger. It worked.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie read King’s piece and was asked about the comparison. Read more »